My Love/Hate relationship with Delhi.

10 Things I love about living in Delhi:

1. There is always something to do. Whether it's a trip to a local monument or going for chai by the side of the road and people watching, you'll be bound to find something to do to wind down in your free time. 
2. Autos. As I've mentioned previously, I love autos. They're fast, cheap (if you're haggling is up to scratch) and usually pretty reliable. Autos are also a really good way of seeing the city as their open sides allow great views of the area you're travelling through. 
3. Food. Another thing I've mentioned before is that the food here is (typically) really good. There's a huge variety of foods from street food snacks to the richest banquets of food put on by families. There is always more than enough food which can be a little uncomfortable when you're expected to have three large meals per day but at least I have no desire to snack anymore! 
4. Shopping. In Delhi you can buy almost anything you want if you know where to look. Walk down almost any residential street and you'll find carts of fresh fruit and vegetables or if you need something more specific, head into your nearest market and you'll be surprised at what you can find. 
5. Practicality. In the UK, if your shoes start falling apart you'd take it as a sign to throw them out and buy new ones. Not here. Most residential areas have a cobbler at the side of the road somewhere. Give him your broken shoes, go about your errands, pop back later and they'll be good as new for the very reasonable cost of Rs5 (around £0.05) 
6. Tailoring. Can't find the perfect style of dress? Like a top but not the material? There's no need to worry. Here you can pick out the perfect fabric, design a top/blouse that you like and have it had made to fit perfectly for as little as Rs250 (around £2.50) 
7. Formal .v. casual. Going to an event and having to dress formally can often cause me to panic slightly; What should I wear? How formal is too formal? How much effort do I have to make with my appearance? Thankfully, here I can throw on some leggings, a Kurta (traditional dress/shirt), a nice shawl and some eyeliner and I'm ready to go. Perfect. 
8. Style. Due to the style of clothing here, you often can't tell the difference between pyjamas and
   trousers. This means I can easily walk around my local area in my PJs without anyone even noticing or
   
   caring.
9. Public holidays. In the UK we have 8 bank holidays per year (correct me if I'm wrong), here there are over 50 official and unofficial holidays therefore plenty of excuses for a celebration! 
10. Can't seem to kick that headache pounding inside your skull? How about some prescription strength pain killers? No need for an actual prescription, just call up you nearest pharmacy and they will deliver almost any medicine you can think of to your front door. Sorted.

  10 things I dislike about Delhi:

1. Water. I don't know why but it really irritates me that I can't drink tap water here.
2. Health. It would be nice to not have to worry about my health all the time, I have been advised to take some supplements (which I am doing) but I still remain unconvinced as to weather this is necessary or, to quote the great Sheldon Cooper, it is just "the ingredients for very expensive urine".
3. Rudeness. In public here, a lot of people don't seem to be aware of the concept of common courtesy. The worst culprits seem to be the older women. I'm all for giving my seat up to elderly people but I somehow feel a lot less willing when they demand that I give them my seat on the metro. I've also never been pushed around by so many old ladies before, they may look weak and frail but if you're in the way of what they want, you'd better brace yourself.
4. Lack of subtlety. This point should probably be grouped with the point above but It bugs me more than enough to qualify for a rant of it's own. Now, I understand that being a 5 foot 7 white girl in Delhi makes me stand out quite a bit, but does this mean that people have to stare quite so much? Maybe I sound like I'm being dramatic but this is the most un-subtle staring I've ever seen. Cars go past and every head (including the drivers) turns to stare as they drive by, People on motorbikes turn round to stare, rather than watching the road ahead, Jaws literally hang open. Surely I can't be that interesting!
5. Style. Three words: socks and flip-flops. Need I say more?
6. Buying clothes. When shopping for clothes here I have to put up with the extremely un-flattering calls of "don't worry, I have big sizes for you" and people trying to sell me huge items of clothing, then arguing with me that the correct size will be too small for me. Thanks but I think I'm capable of deciding what will fit me. I tend to finish shopping feeling pretty self concious to say the least.
7. Food options. I recently discovered that I have developed an intolerance to gluten, meaning that my options for food here have become pretty limited. I have never eaten so much rice in my life. My nightmares are haunted by the stuff!
8. Vegetarianism. I can't remember the last time I ate meat. I want a roast dinner.
9. Drinking culture. There is a very different drinking culture here than in the UK, unfortunately this means I can't just nip to the pub after work to chill out with my friends. In fact, I can't remember the last time I drank alcohol which feels pretty strange seeing as my friends in the UK are drinking themselves silly at uni.
10. Age. So, I recently turned 20, meaning I'm officially no longer a teenager. This, plus the fact that I've managed to move 5000 miles away from home by myself, gave me the impression that I should be treated as an adult. Clearly I was mistaken. For the first time in my life, I have a curfew. Yes, a curfew! 9.30pm! Also people often seem to assume that I can't do things for myself too. I decide to cook, people get shocked. I walk home in the dark, people worry. I offer to help, people look more than a bit perplexed at the idea. 

My room mates say I complain too much, which I blame on being British (it's what we do) so I thought I'd prove that though I can find plenty of things to complain about, there are so many things that I love about living in Delhi too. It's just as well really, I can't afford a flight back to the UK...